Oklahoma News

12:09 pm

Tue February 24, 2015

The Oklahoma House has overwhelmingly approved legislation to prohibit texting while driving.

House members voted 96-2 for the bill and sent it on to the state Senate for debate and a vote. A similar bill is already pending on the Senate floor.

The bill by Republican Rep. Terry O'Donnell of Tulsa marks the second consecutive year he has authored legislation to ban texting while driving in the state. Last year, a similar bill died on the House floor.

Tue February 24, 2015

Facing a budget hole of more than $611 million, state lawmakers said they're looking everywhere for revenue to fill that hole.

On Friday, Governor Fallin's finance secretary, Preston Doerflinger, said he may have found a source of savings: agency travel costs, agencies' memberships to other organizations and agency promotional and events expenses, or what his office calls "swag."

Oklahoma Watch

6:03 am

Tue February 24, 2015

John Atkinson, who was released from OKlahoma County Jail after serving time on drug and weapons charges, must pay $3,000 to get his driver's license restored. Until then, he is relying on family and friends for transportation.

In Oklahoma, a state that largely rode out the recession on a gusher of new-found oil, things may be about to change.

Now it costs more to produce most of Oklahoma's oil than it's worth on the world market. That's triggering a sharp economic reversal, one that some say has the makings of a prolonged downturn.

"Over the last five years, the stars really aligned," says Roy Williams, president of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce. "The community's investment in itself just blossomed, the energy industry blossomed."

Mon February 23, 2015

An Oklahoma prosecutor says the Department of Human Services didn't do enough to help an Oklahoma City girl whose grandmother is accused of dressing as a witch to abuse her.

The Oklahoman reports that Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater says the department should have done more after the girl's mother called the department's hotline in June to say there was a phone video of 49-year-old Geneva Robinson grabbing her daughter.

Organized citizens of large cities can be a greater force of innovation in leadership than state or federal governments, according to the vice president of the Brookings Institution.

Bruce Katz discussed the premise of his book The Metropolitan Revolution during a January 28 event at the University of Central Oklahoma. He emphasized the country’s economic growth model needs to “get back to the fundamentals” without relying on state and federal governments to lead the way.